The present invention relates to a mechanism for tilting an outboard motor in a vertical plane relative to its mounting bracket and, more particularly, to a mechanism for providing a variety of preset tilt positions, temporary movement from and direct return to the preset position, or resetting the tilt to intermediate positions.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,331,430 and 4,472,148 describe similar mechanisms for providing a variety of outboard motor tilt positions. The positions typically include a series of lower trim positions, one or more shallow water drive positions, and an uppermost trailering position. These patents describe alternate mechanisms for selecting and establishing the various tilt positions and moving the motor between them. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,148 discloses a mechanism which allows the operator to change positions simply by pushing down on the motor tiller handle and tilting the engine up. A ratchet mechanism allows stepwise movement between a trim pin and serially arranged position notches to allow the motor to be tilted from the original down position to any higher position, including the uppermost trailering position, without activating any supplemental mechanism. To bring the motor back down to the original position, and depending upon which upper position it has been temporarily moved to, the motor is tilted up to and slightly beyond the uppermost shallow water drive position or the top trailering position, and released. The trim pin follows a closed circuit cam track that returns the trim pin and motor to its original position as the engine tilts down.
Although this mechanism has operated satisfactorily, it has been found that the mechanism does not provide the most convenient operation under certain conditions commonly encountered in use. For example, if the engine trails out from the boat as a result of rapid deceleration, if the tiller handle is inadvertantly pushed down, or if the engine is tilted up purposely due to shallow water, the motor will tilt to a higher position and be held there by the mechanism. Thus, this mechanism holds the motor in a higher position which is only temporary and is not normally desired to be held. To return the motor to its original trim position, it is necessary to continue to tilt the motor up beyond the highest trim position and allow the trim pin to engage the return cam track. This action is somewhat awkward and may cause the motor propeller to come out of the water. If the engine is running while this is done, the engine exhaust outlet will be exposed and, consequently, the engine noise will not be muffled.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,148 also allows the operator to preset any of three lower trim positions to which the motor will return when it is tilted down, as described above. However, the mechanism has a total of five trim positions and, if the operator wishes to return the motor to the fourth or fifth trim position, the operator must preset the return to the third position, allow the motor to return directly to it via the return cam track, and then raise the motor to the desired fourth or fifth position.